I’d become an ambassador of Le Gruyère AOP Switzerland. Honestly, my first reaction was, “Why me?” Thinking about it, it actually goes back a long way. When I was younger, my family moved to Australia. I left everything behind, and at that age, it was hard to understand that the life I had before wasn’t coming back. With a slight identity crisis about where I came from and what I represented, I held onto the idea of Switzerland—perfectionism seen in chocolate, cheese, and watches. It became a way for me to establish who I was, and it shaped how I approached everything I did. Not that I was perfect, but the idea of doing things properly always stayed with me. It showed up in small ways: writing neatly, drawing, and especially cooking. It wasn’t always perfect, but that standard was always there. Over time, that translated into how I worked, consistent, detail-focused, and serious about what I was doing. A lot of that came from the people around me: mentors and managers who pushed me to be better, more attentive, and more aware of how I carried myself. Part of that connection back to Switzerland, and something we always enjoyed was cheese and chocolate. In Australia, good Swiss cheese was almost impossible to find. So whenever family came to visit and brought “gruyère” (before I understood what that really meant), it felt like a small piece of home. A sense of familiarity. A connection to where I came from. Fast forward to today. After several years in the hospitality industry, I came back to Switzerland to study, with the goal of one day opening my own restaurant. Social media became a way to test ideas, improve, and get closer to that vision. At some point last year, I wanted to go deeper, focusing on longer-form content and using it as an opportunity to connect with Swiss products and showcase them to the world. Not just cooking, but understanding where ingredients come from and the people behind them. Le Gruyère AOP was one of the first I reached out to. I didn’t expect much; I just wanted to learn. But they said yes from the start. From there, everything happened naturally, guided by Gaspard and enriched by the people I met along the way, from milk producers to cheesemakers, and even the affineurs, each working with passion every day to bring Le Gruyère AOP to life. Visiting the alpage, learning the process, and meeting people who truly care about what they do, I finally understood that it wasn’t just “gruyère”, but Le Gruyère AOP. We started cooking with it. One wheel turned into recipes, those recipes reached millions, and the journey kept building from there. If I had to summarise—and I hope the pictures reflect this—for me, it has always been about the food, the execution, and constantly trying to improve. And in many ways, that’s exactly what Le Gruyère AOP represents: quality, craftsmanship, and consistency. So I guess that’s the answer to “why me.” Proud to represent it. #gruyèreaop #swissmade #switzerland @legruyereaop - @cedriklorenzen